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CSN Gives Back

CSN Stores would like to share the good fortune we have experienced with those of us who have not been so lucky. Over the past several years, members of the CSN Stores team have donated time, energy, and funds to various organizations that we feel can fully benefit from our services. We hope to expand our community service initiatives this year. We look forward to participating in as many fulfilling projects as our generous employees can propose. CSN’s Food Drive Brings in Over 590 Pounds of Food Earlier this month, CSN participated in 4-H’s annual Holiday Food Drive, helping the organization meet their state-wide goal of 21,000 pounds. All donations went to the Greater Boston Food Bank, the "largest hunger-relief organization in New England and one of the largest food banks in the country."

CSN held a company wide challenge to see what floor could donate the most food. After nearly three weeks of close competition, CSN had donated over 590 pounds, with the winning floor (16) coming in at 230. On top of that, CSN also donated $1,000 to the Food Bank to buy fresh produce and other perishable items. CSN Stores Participates in the 2009 Light the Night Walk In late October, a group of 25 CSNers participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk. On top of the strong showing on walk night – a beautiful, breezy fall evening – the CSN team also raised over $3,300, bringing their two-year tally to $5,300+. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer and their mission is to "cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families." The Light the Night walk is the society’s biggest even and a "night for the nation to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer."

"We love participating in this walk and look forward to it every year," said walker Will Flanagan. "We can’t wait to raise even more for the LLS in 2010!" 60+ CSNers Compete in the 2009 JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Last week, over 60 employees from CSN Stores ran in the 2009 JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, the largest road race held entirely within the Boston city limits. This fun and often congested 3.5 mile race drew over 12,000 runners and walkers.

CSN Stores was one of 651 Boston-based companies to participate. With the weather cooperating, the fast-paced loop around iconic Commonwealth Avenue proved a breeze for many CSN runners. The lead CSNer maintained a blistering 6 minute mile pace, clocking in at just over 21 minutes.

Though the members of the CSN team were scattered throughout the race, every runner wore a 'Run Hard, Shop Easy' gray t shirt, making it easy to spot these speedy sellers. 2009 marked the second year in a row that the online retail leader had over 60 employees compete and finish the challenge.

The '09 Corporate Challenge benefited Camp Harbor View, a day camp that serves over 600 inner-city youths, ages 11-14. Located on Long Island in Boston Harbor, this camp "provides an opportunity for children from Boston's at-risk neighborhoods to experience the joys of summer day camp in a beautiful and safe location in their own city." CSN Stores is proud to participate in an event that benefits such a great cause and we look forward to next year's race! CSN Marches Again, Participates in '09 March for Babies A few weeks ago, a handful of CSNers participated in the March of Dimes' annual fundraiser, the March for Babies. A fun, family event, the March is a three mile walk held in the heart of Boston. The organization is dedicated to improving the health of babies – through the prevention of premature births, infant mortality, and birth defects – and the walk is the Dimes' largest, most popular event.

This year, team CSN Stores joined a record number of walkers and raised over $4,560, bringing their two year total north of $10,000! Though the day started off a bit rainy, the 10 CSN walkers were greeted with beautiful weather right as the March began. And though one CSNer was across the pond, employee Julia DeBernardo walked 3 miles in Ireland on the day of the event – making it truly a global initiative.

Marcie DiChiara and her son Julian were team captains for the second year in a row. "It was such an honor to participate in the March for Babies for the second year in a row- officially making it a CSN annual event," says DiChiara. "I was so happy to be joined by my colleagues and family and incredibly proud of everyone's fundraising efforts. Together we were able to count on CSN Stores to match whatever we could raise - and we had a lot of fun doing it!" CSN Teams Up with Home for Little Wanderers for Landscaping Project In early May, twelve CSNers put on their gardening gloves and helped the maintenance crew at the Home for Little Wanderers with their spring cleaning duties. The group went from one end of the property to the other, weeding and mulching along the way. They spread over 10 yards of mulch, leaving the area, as the director of the Home, Collen Fitzpatrick, wrote, "looking spectacular." CSN also donated $200 towards the effort.

This was the second time CSN has paired up with the Home; they ran their holiday toy drive through this organization back in December. The Home for Little Wanderers is a nationally renowned, private, non-profit child and family service agency. Their Knights Children Center – the location where the CSNers volunteered – is both a school and residential hall that serves boys and girls ages 5 through 13 who have serious emotional, behavioral, and learning problems.

"I can't remember the last time I was up before 9 a.m. on a Saturday, but the sleepiness just melted away once we got going," says team member Mitch Cote-Crosskill. "The extra incentive came when we saw some of the kids outside playing and we realized why it was we were there." Running for Research: Five Fit CSNers Complete Boston Marathon for ALF and BMC On April 20th, four CSNers finished the Boston Marathon with the American Liver Foundation's Run for Research (RFR) Team. For over two decades the RFR, one of the oldest and largest marathon teams in the Boston Athletic Association's official charity program, has helped raise "critical funds" in the fight against liver disease.

CSNers Mike O'Hanlon, Lindsay Allsop, Sarah Donner, and Lauren Norton battled the hills and chilly weather for the 113th running of the iconic marathon. Their efforts off the pavement were equally as impressive, raising more than $20,000 for RFR. They even held a fun event a few months back at a local bar, encouraging friends and co-workers to donate and support the cause. CSN contributed $4,000 to the runner's fantastic fundraising effort.

These four were not the only CSNers running for a cause. Pat Davis ran for the Boston Medical Center, New England's largest "safety net hospital." Pat also helped organize the event listed above and raised over $3,000 for the BMC!

"Finishing the Boston Marathon was one of the most rewarding experiences," says Norton. "Running for the American Liver Foundation helped me keep one foot in front of the other knowing the patients we are helping may never have the opportunity." CSN Teams Up with the Home for Little Wanderers for Holiday Toy Drive For this year's toy drive, CSN teamed up with The Home for Little Wanderers, a local organization that strives to ensure the healthy, emotional, mental, and social development of children at risk throughout Massachusetts. This holiday season, the Home allowed donators to order gifts online and ship them to their location, a perfect format for CSN's Web-savvy, e-shopping experienced workforce. Employees accessed over 200 CSN sites to find items that were on many 'Little Wanderers' Wish Lists.'

Once all the toys were shipped and the final numbers were tallied, CSN matched the total value of the contributions. So, on top of all the great toys and housewares sent, CSN donated an additional $2,000.

"It was great that we were able to use our e-tailing expertise for the toy drive," said CSN Toy Drive Organizer Eliza Skinner. "We were able to send a lot of 'wish list' gifts that you can't typically find at the local mall. We couldn't be happier that The Home set up its toy drive like this and we look forward to working with them in the future." CSN Helps Struggling Female Artists from Developing Countries On November 22, CSN employees attended a fundraising event for the recently founded Boston chapter of Nest. CSN Stores generously donated The Kartell Stone Stool and The Kartell Maui Side Chair (sold on www.allmodern.com, a CSN Store) as complementary raffle prizes. Guests bid on art work by CSN employees Lucy Nadeau and Staci Coleman at the event's silent auction to raise funds for Nest Boston.

Nest is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting female artists and artisans in the developing world. To do this, Nest provides micro-credit loans to be used for the purchase of the supplies and materials necessary to begin and/or maintain art or craft-based businesses. The funds for these loans are generated from events such as this one and by selling unique products produced exclusively for Nest by a group of artists and designers. In addition, the recipients of Nest loans also make their crafts available to Nest as repayment for the micro-credit loans. All Nest products can be purchased through www.buildanest.com.

"We had 11 CSN employees turn out for this event" said Lauren Arkema, one of the event's organizers at CSN Stores. "I was pleased to see the spirit of CSN come through in support of female entrepreneurs in the developing world who are challenged by lack of economic status and are without high level education. I think by encouraging and recognizing women professionally and financially, the more successful a village or business will become. Let us all continue to encourage each other to build on our natural talents and invest in each other in order to produce and maintain business." For more information on how you can get involved in your area visit the Nest Web site at www.buildanest.com. CSN 'Lights the Night' and Walks for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society On October 2nd, nearly 20 CSNers participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 'Light the Night Walk,' raising nearly $2,200 dollars for this terrific cause. CSN also held an in-house raffle for four Bruins tickets to help drive contributions and increase awareness.

The Lymphoma Society's mission is to help raise funds to cure leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. The society's 'Light the Night Walk,' held nationwide in countless communities throughout the year, is one of the organization's biggest events. Participants walk for a short distance in twilight, holding illuminated balloons - white for survivors, red for supporters and gold for "in memory." More than a walk, the evening includes music, food and family festivities.

"The walk was really a special event," said Team Captain Will Flanagan. "Everyone had a lot of fun and I think we were all moved by the flood of people and balloons on the Boston Commons, especially the gold ones. We look forward to doing it again next year." 69 CSNers Make Splash at Rainy JPMorgan Chase's 25th Annual Corporate Challenge Some of CSN Stores' most athletic runners, including Chairman and Co-Founder Steven Conine, participated in the hugely popular JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, a 3-mile run on June 26th, which attracted a sell-out crowd of 12,000 runners from 633 companies. Though the Corporate Challenge celebrated its 25th anniversary with this race, this was the first time that CSNers participated. Based on the huge turnout and the fun had by all, this race probably marks the beginning of many years of CSNers running in the Corporate Challenge.

The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge is held in 12 cities on five continents and is expected to raise $600,000 for a number of charities this year. The charity to benefit from Boston's event is Camp Harbor View. This organization offers children from at-risk neighborhoods an experience that encourages them to grow, learn and have fun - all in a beautiful camp setting on Long Island in Boston Harbor.

A portion of each entry fee for the race, determined by JPMorgan Chase, will go to Camp Harbor View. In total, CSN Stores and individual CSNers contributed more than $2,400 to the Corporate Challenge by participating in the race this year.

CSN's own Melissa Sherman came in second place among all of the women runners, which is quite an accomplishment, given all of the participants in this race.

CSNer Molly Fitzgerald organized CSN's participation in the massive event, down to printing T-shirts for the event that read: "Shop Easy, Run Hard". Special kudos go to Molly for her incredible dedication to the effort and her patience in recruiting such a large number of runners. CSN Lends A Hand For The Serve-a-Thon On June 7th, over 3,000 citizens in the Greater Boston area helped bring new life to schools, playgrounds, vacant lots, housing developments, and parks. Serve-a-thon, Boston's premier community service event, was attended by 30 CSN employees. Serve-a-thon sends groups of volunteers to one of four Boston neighborhoods where participants engage in projects such as mural painting, landscaping, trash removal, picnic table construction, and many more.

CSN's energetic group of volunteers was stationed in South Boston where they helped paint a number of playground structures. The group then traveled to Condon Elementary School where they repaired and renewed a kickball field. The weather was shining, spirits were high, and the day finished a great success. CSN Participates in the March for Babies The March of Dimes recently held its annual March for Babies in downtown Boston. This three-mile walk around the Charles River was attended by over 35 CSN Stores employees. With the contributions from coworkers and a matching donation from CSN Stores, these walkers raised more than $7,000 for the March of Dimes.

A true family event, many employees brought along mothers, brothers, sisters and significant others to participate in the walk. The March of Dimes is dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. The March for Babies, formerly known as WalkAmerica, is the organization's biggest event and has helped raise more than $1.7 billion since its inaugural walk in 1970.

CSN Employee Marcie DiChiara and her eight-month-old son, Julian, were team captains for the event. "The March of Dimes is an organization that is very close to our hearts," said Marcie. "As parents of a preemie, we experienced first-hand just how vital the March of Dimes really is -- so it was particularly special for us to be a part of this event. We were so pleased and grateful for the turnout and generosity of my CSN colleagues, who where so amazing at generating more than $7,000! I'm really proud of the entire group, and we had a great time participating." CSN Supports Women Of The Congo Women of the Congo are experiencing an epidemic of abuse and CSNers wanted to play a part in providing support for them. A total of 67 CSN employees (34 women/33 men) participated in our Company-Wide Raffle to Support Women in The Democratic Republic of The Congo. Anyone who donated $5 entered the raffle. CSNers who donated $20 also received a shirt designed to help raise awareness about violence against women in eastern Congo. One-hundred percent of our donation is going directly to Women for Women International, a well-respected NGO working to help women in war-torn countries. The total donation from employees was approximately $2,000, which CSN matched, bringing it to $4,000 in total.

CSN Employee Lauren Arkema organized the fund-raising effort and said she was very proud of her coworkers and her company. This effort is part of CSN's Charitable Giving/Donation Matching Program. CITY YEAR Serve-a-thon 2007 Event Sponsor - Plus Several Teams of Participants!

Instead of just one day of community service, in 2007, CSN Stores participated in City Year Boston's first ever Serve-a-thon: 100 Hours of Power. City Year members led thousands in round-the-clock service for 100 consecutive hours to help build a better Boston. All funds raised went to help young leaders of City Year Boston to make a difference in the life of a child through literacy tutoring, mentoring, after-school activities, school vacation programs, and other community service opportunities.

CSN volunteers personally got the chance to help repaint basketball courts, build a baseball diamond, and paint inspiring murals at a public school in Dorchester. Thanks to City Year for giving us this great chance to give back. Toys for Tots Happy Holidays from CSN Stores!

CSN Stores donated our entire current inventory of returned strollers, gear, toys and other children's products to Toys for Tots. Our grand total came to over $10,000 of donated goods! Toys for Tots gives any gear they cannot use to homeless & women's shelters, domestic abuse shelters, families in social services, and many other needy individuals. American Red Cross Blood Drive Over 60 Volunteers and 46 Pints of Blood!

CSN Stores recently organized an American Red Cross blood drive at the office that was deemed one of the most enthusiastic corporate blood drives that the American Red Cross has ever seen. Dedicated CSNers helped staff the booth, schedule donation times, and gave blood. The Red Cross successfully collected 46 pints of blood, and that's way above average for a first-time donation site! The American Red Cross staff was impressed with the turnout and everyone's friendly attitude. We plan to host another one soon.

Some four million people give blood–the gift of life–through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. And the Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty to stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of 186 national societies, the Red Cross helps to restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. National Furniture Bank of America Corporate Sponsor

CSN Stores is a proud sponsor of the National Furniture Bank of America. Their Help1Up program is the first industry-wide charitable fundraising effort in the furniture business. Furniture banks collect home furnishings from the general public, and then donate them to children and families experiencing insufferable hardship, such as mothers escaping domestic violence, victims of natural disasters and families living below the poverty line. In fact, furniture banks served over 40,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Friends of Titus Sparrow Park A long-time resident of Durham Street, Titus Sparrow cared deeply for his neighborhood in the South End. He was a devoted tennis player, and began tennis programs for children at nearby Carter Field. Titus Sparrow helped to form the Sportsmen's Tennis Club, which for decades has provided city children with the opportunity to learn the game at no cost. In 1956, he became the first African-American umpire of the United States Tennis Association. He officiated at the Davis Cup, the U.S. Open, and the Longwood Tennis Club in Brookline. He planned to give free tennis lessons on the court in the new park. At a time when city officials paid little attention to poor minority areas, he encouraged his neighbors to be politically active and take responsibility for their community. He died before the park was completed in 1976. Because of his commitment to his community, the park, which includes a tennis court, was named in his honor.

CSN is an annual sponsor of the Summer Concert Series at the park. Community Servings "Pie in the Sky" Event CSN Pie-Sorting Volunteers

Over a dozen CSNers and volunteers from around the city helped sort and box 13,000 pies for Community Servings' annual "Pie in the Sky" event held at "The Castle" in Boston's Park Plaza. Pies were donated by local restaurants and proceeds from the event supported Community Servings, a local, non-profit organization that serves meals to over 700 individuals and families who are homebound with acute, life-threatening illnesses. Boston Food Bank Several members of the CSN community traveled to the Boston Food Bank to help sort and package donated food on its way to local families in need. Our group sorted thousands of pounds of food, which amounted to several hundred meals. The experience was rewarding for everyone involved and is something that we plan to do again in 2008! Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure A team of 14 CSNers ran or walked in the Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure. With less than a week to prepare, the team raised $1,870 in total, thanks to sponsorship from CSN and impressive personal fundraising efforts by each of the participants. Our top fundraiser was Paul Toms, followed closely by Melissa Sherman. Melissa, by the way, also came in 16th in the 5K race overall!

Stay tuned for additional updates during 2008 of new, cause-related endeavors involving dedicated CSNers.

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